Newbie guitar amp advice needed...

[tekriter]

I'm just about to pick up my first guitar - a Fender Mexican-made Strat, and I need to pick a small amp for practice in the house. I am interested in playing rock primarily, although I'm starting to learn from scratch.

I've looked over the specs for Roland Cubes, Roland MicroCubes, Pignoses, and the Fender Frontman series. The Rolands have effects and distortions, the Fenders don't, and the Pignoses are mostly sold on nostalgia, it seems.

Any advice for a newbie - do I want effects if I'm just learning? Do the Fenders actually sound different from the Rolands?

The store that I'm getting the Strat from recommends the MicroCube from Roland because of the variety of simulated old-school amps it contains. But as a newbie I don't have any old-school experiences!

[mstrsplinter326]

1. pignoses are weak

But the others are all pretty comperable. If you are worried about not getting full enjoyment out of your amp due to experience then I would just get whatever is cheapest.

If you get the amount of power you want then you'll be satisfied with whatever. And if you want effects get one of those multi-effect pedals with digital readouts to tell you what your going to sound like.

[tekriter]

4. I'm leaning towards the Fenders because they have an 8-inch speaker

and I figure that can only help the sound, but I didn't want to kick myself six months from now if I make the wrong choice - money is an issue in this deal and I'm getting the Fender strat instead of a Squier because of the build quality.

[Trajan]

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[BillZBubb]

2. You are just getting a practice amp.

Don't worry too much about effects or sound differences. You do need an amp with overdrive (for getting some distortion) and some reverb is always nice.

I'd try to get something with at least 25 watts and at least a 10" speaker. Sometimes it's fun to crank it up a bit!

The Fender Frontman series are very good for this use. I can't really comment on Rolands.

Go to MusiciansFriend.com and get them to send you a catalog. They've got a big selection and pretty good prices.

[Blue-Jay]

3. The Roland Cubes are decent-sounding.

I'd recommend getting something with at least 20 watts of power, though. Occasionally, you're going to want to crank it up, and those smaller amps are un-crankeable. Kustom makes a small tube amp that sounds killer.

As far as effects, I'd suggest getting a cheap multi-effects pedal. No, you don't need all the crazy sounds that come out of those, but it's fun to just goof around with some them. I've been wanting to try this one out, and at $70, it seems to be a good deal.

[drb]

5. Get yourself a larger used amp...

...like a Peavey, and then get an effects pedal. New effects are becoming more sophisticated all the time, so it doesn't make sense to me to have your effects built in to your amp. I have a DigiTech RP-200 that can models amps I've never heard of, plus a foot pedal to vary the level of your selected effect.

[reprehensor]

6. If you can afford it...

Pick up a small CRATE tube amp. I recommend the Vintage Club 20 if you can find one. You can use it for practice and for gigging in small clubs, or rehearsing with garage band.

Then buy some sort of digital effects box, and you're set.

[noahmijo]

7. Wanna play rock? learn blues

I started with a Mex strat myself.

I'd go with a good Fender Twin, and if you want a good rock sound just get a Boss distortion pedal.

First learn to sound good playing clean though before you move onto layering effects and what not.

Good players can sound good without the use of effects. Start learning blues scales and basic blues progressions as most modern day rock songs utilize the blues or Pentatonic scales.

[tekriter]

8. I agree about the effects,

I didn't see why the sales guy was pushing the effects models when I haven't even learned to play straight yet.

I would suspect it's the money except that for the amps I'm looking at, the prices don't vary much - $100 to $150 covers pretty much all of them.

[Zorra]

10. Giving amp advice is difficult because

it really depends on what kind of tone you personally prefer, and what your intentions are in learning to play, which you may not even know at this point in your musical development. You may find that you like playing, have an ear, have talent, get dedicated, and may consider becoming a pro at some point. You may just want to have fun with it. Or you may get bored with it and stick your guitar and amp in the attic. (Mexican strats are, IMO, a great beginning electric guitar because they usually sound pretty good and are pretty easy to play).

"Old school" classic tube amps, like the Fender Twin or the Marshall JCM's have a very distinctive sound. If the Roland can actually somewhat approximate the sounds of amps like these, it might be a better bet because of versatility. Effects are fun, and if you want to play rock they are sometimes essential if you are trying to cop someone else's sound. The thing about effects is, they might keep you more interested in playing. Different people develop differently musically. One person might start out taking lessons and learning to play clean first. Another person might start out slamming distorted power chords. IMO, for rock, sometimes practice playing clean, and sometimes with distortion/effects also. If you enjoy it, you may want to consider taking a few lessons with a guitar teacher that can give you advice and can teach you what you want to know.

Play all the amps that you are considering buying at the store (with the strat you are buying) and choose the one that has the best basic tone for you and for the type of music that you wish to play, and has the features you think you may need to play the type of music you want to play.

Yes, different amps almost always have different tonal qualities.

You can add external effects to most any amp.

If possible, try to get an amp that has two footswitchable channels, a clean channel and a distortion channel. Many small inexpensive amps have only one channel in which the distortion increases as you increase the volume. This can be very frustrating if you want to play clean at higher volumes, or need to switch from clean to distortion during a song you are playing.

Hope this helps, and that you have fun playing. Good luck!

[tekriter]

11. Thanks, everyone - appreciate the advice.

:toast:

[yorgatron]

12. small practice amp=fender champ

or look for off-brand small tube amps from the 50's and 60's like Wards airline or Magnatone.you'll always need a decent small amp,even if you get a bigger one later for gigging.they're great for recording too,a small amp sounds bigger than a big amp if you mike it right.